NYC993

I figured I would share my experience to help any other first timers.
I'm very new at this and have little mechanical background and thought the first time it would take 2-3 hours...how about 7-9 (mostly because I didn't have good tool for the small filter), followed the p-car dyi, which seems very easy in theory. I'm sure second time around having all of the right tools in hand, I can get it done in an hour maybe 2 with beer breaks.
Here are my problems/observations:
- Getting the lowered car up is not that easy. I had to roll all four wheels onto portable ramps and then lift, as the floor jack was too tall to fit under the car once one side is up. Even a pair of ramps from the store could not be used in the front and barely cleared in the rear. Thankfully, my father-in-law had self made wooden ones that fit. Oh and the only for me was to roll onto them going in reverse (not enough clearance to go forward), not easy as reverse gear is a bit tall. Keep in mine my car is not THAT low, I believe ROW height.
- The oil wrench was useless on both filters. On the first filter, it was my fault as I tried this and deformed the filter a bit. Since there is some space I punched a whole and used a giant screwdriver to get it to turn.
- Fortunately removing the "r" connector that connects the orange hoses was a breeze, but don't bother with screwdriver on the straps. Thankfully, you can also use 7mm socket (maybe 8mm, don't remember).
- Getting the oil return line out wasn't that easy. Be careful as it's soft aluminum. I used combination of prying with very large flat screwdriver and just pushing on the pipe. Make sure you remove the tranny plastic cover as it will give you more space and won't be in the way of oil. The oil WILL gash out of the return line, and the tranny plastic cover is in the way.
- Of course when I got to the small filter it would not turn. Using tape, rubber bands, paper towels between the filter and the wrench didn't help, it just kept spinning (This took most of the time). A quick search on rennlist, and the craftsman three prong tool that tightens as you turn seemed to be the answer in most cases. And it worked for me. If it doesn't work, you can try cutting the filter somehow and use this. But you would have to cut and empty the filter. Again you have to have the tranny plastic cover off and a ratchet with extra long connector (I used 2 2-inch ones) so your ratchet handle is low enough to have clearance for good leverage (the small filter is quite up there). I have small ratchet so had to put a pipe on the handle to give me move leverage.
- I would get long 15mm 6 side box wrench for the oil plugs. You can use socket on the oil tank plug, but it won't fit for the engine plug, and those are pretty tight, so again leverage is your friend.
- The rest is easy, just make sure you slow down pouring the last 2-3 quarts as they go slower, and as DIY says after don't overflow. Put in 8-9 quarts and then add a bit with car running to bring to the desired level. In my case, I put in about 9 quarts in total.
- Lastly, use big oil pan or two to collect oil. Next time I'm planing to undo both drain plugs and both filters and lift/lower the front of the car to get more oil out, maybe even flush with new oil.

ble2011

I do all my oil changes. After my first one, I couldn't believe it took so long. But after a few more, they do get easier. I now use the same type of 3-prong filter remover you mentioned and believe it works the best. I would add - I always spread a vynil drop cloth underneath as oil invariably gets spilled every time. Makes for a quick cleanup and keeps the garage floor dry.

mjsporsche

The 993 oil change is too much effort with the two oil filters. Makes the $200 charged by many indy repair facilities a bargain.

Pags993

^^^ +1

uscarrera

Been doing mine for a few years now with the race car changes come along more often One thing I made was taking a large plastic jug, I think it was originally cat liter, cutting one side off keeping the pour spout, now I put this under the oil tank oil runs into jug and out spout into oil change pan, no mussy no fussy.
Rich

DanL993

Really?? Another "my first oil change" story??

NYC993

I agree, as long as Indy is close by and can do it right away or you have somebody to pick you up and take you there.

NYC993

You don't have to read it or even open the thread. If there is one tip that saves somebody an hour or two, it's worth posting.

Texas993

Good job! I do mine annually and it surprised me everytime. Not how hard it is to do (much easier), but the mess that I can make!

Easiest oil change vehicle: Mercedes. If you you the sucking pump method, you can do it in about 10 minutes and one paper towel.

mcipseric

Please keep your negativity to yourself. The 993 Rennlist has the reputation of mostly being a positive, mature (regardless of age) place to express our joy of these cars. Let's keep it that way.

As I read other forums, I am often reminded on how lucky we are to have such a great community here on the Rennlist 993 forum. Let's work to keep it that way so we look forward to reading posts and participating.

DanL993

^^^^ Well hey, OK, then let's have a couple of more threads on "What's the best oil?" or "Do Michelin's provide the best overall ride?" I'm all in favor of the great information on the site, and benefit personally from it.....I do wonder if the "Search" funciton isn't used enough.

rlme36

Here is the deal with the oil filter cap and getting the filters off. I use a thin strip of 150 or 200 grit sandpaper grips like a champ on the filter used a couple of extensions and a breaker bar for leverage. Can't help on ride height buy a lower jack. I have an ac hydraulic dk20 no issues on lowest Height of row

rlme36

Oh for the oil drain tank I use a 5 gallon bucket with handle like the orange ones at Home Depot on con junction with a form a funnel cause once that plug is out its a gusher

XavierLaFlamme

Very good tip

Mike J

How much of that is labor?

It's interesting to see the layering of Rennlist members skills and approaches, from:

1 - no clue of what is under the skin of the car, or really do not care
2 - the car's function is (soft-of) understood, but not way will they touch it, or they do not want to get their hands dirty - often newbies
3 - the owner will attempt to do basic maintenance (oil changes) but are usually challenged
4 - the owner can dive deeper into the car, perhaps drop engines, clutch jobs, suspension swaps, etc. but internals look too daunting
5 - the owner will diagnose and rebuild all components, including engines and transmission

So, if you are at level 4 or 5, then sometimes it's hard to see the challenges at level 3, because relatively speaking, it's really simple stuff. What I hope is people will gain confidence and move up the ladder, perhaps not to level 5, but not be afraid to jump to 4 if they want to.

Where I get a kick out of level 1's, 2's and 3's acting like level 5's -> its pretty easy to detect that when it happens.

Damn engineer in me is coming out....

Cheers,

Mike